Comments on: Fix it: The gas crisishttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/
The premier source of Long Island news and data on business, economic trends and the region’s robust entrepreneurial sector.Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:22:56 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5By: Clifford Sondock, President of the Land Use Institutehttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226230
Clifford Sondock, President of the Land Use InstituteThu, 03 Jul 2008 17:04:46 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-2262301) Stop Government interference in the market…let the Market work…to increase supply and develop alternative sources of energy.

2) Return to a gold standard and get rid of the Federal Reserve which would end INFLATION and rising prices.

]]>By: Kimhttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226231
KimTue, 01 Jul 2008 01:24:27 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-226231Dennis is abolsutely right. They only way to effect gas prices is to use less. A concept so distateful to so many greedy Americans. It is truly the only way to effect fuel prices now. We must decrease demand.
Drilling is not an immediate solution and only a “band-aid” solution to an ever decreasing and horribly polluting, non-renewable fossil fuel supply. The fish in our oceans are contaminated with mecury mostly from coal burning factories.
Drive less, bike more, give up your gas guzzling SUV’s for a more economical vehicle, turn up the thermostat in the summer and down in the winter, consider giving up some of your creature comforts, if not for yourself than for your fellow Americans who may be stuggling more than you are and mostly for our national security. And if not for your fellow Americans, than for American soldiers. The one thing that makes the Middle East dangerous is not a nuclear weapon as much as it is their oil supply. We ALL need to do our part, and our elected officals should be out there stating that.
]]>By: Joe MBA 11783http://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226232
Joe MBA 11783Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:46:41 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-226232To me it seems pretty simple… As the price of gas and oil creeps higher this should lower the barrier to entry of alternative fuels sources. Alternative fuels that were not cost effective to implement now become more appealing. Thus, the government should be subsidizing the switch to alternatives like solar power in the form of rebates. If the consumers return on investment can be recouped in a shorter period of time people will switch to solar. We consume more than 25% of the worlds oil and gas if we reduced our consumption by even 10% the oil nations may reconsider their pricing if their one export product is in less demand.

If we can afford to spend millions of dollars on bombs, we can also afford to spend millions of dollars on subsidizing research grants for other ways to use coal for instance. If we find a way to burn coal cleaner we could use it to make electricity. That alone would reduce our consumption of burning oil to create electricity. The USA is the Saudi Arabia of coal!

Why are there no large tax incentives for installing solar power or insulating your home? To me these ideas are simple and I can’t understand why politicians are not embracing these tactics.

1) Cap the sales tax rate on gasoline. Both counties are silent on this as they rake in ever higher revenues.

2) Eliminate the sales tax on propane, natural gas, and fuel oil.

3) Offer incentives to pay cash at the pump. Charge card companies charge a percentage for the total dollar amount of the sale which goes up and up. Typically 7 cents of each gallon sold goes to the charge card companies in fees.

4) Offer NYS income tax incentives for replacing vehicles with one that gets better mileage.

5) Eliminate speculation in the energy futures market. If you’re not a producer or reseller you should be prohibited from buying & selling in futures.

6) If the Chinese can drill off the Florida coast why can’t we?

7) Offer incentives and plans similar to what Germany offers is solar producing customers to sell to the grid at a guaranteed price, reducing power plant oil use.

8) Encourage Mass transit Use:
The biggest MTA /LIRR failure of late IMHO may have been the lack of vision and not condemning some of the Republic and Grumman properties and relocating Bethpage & Farmingdale stations. This would have given the LIRR Main Branch stations free public parking from Ronkonkoma to Hicksville without requiring a local town parking permit, and thus encouraging mass transit use.

#2 As a country, make weekends 3 days and work weeks 4– expand working hours so that the shifts are 10 hours instead of 8 if you have to, or allow people to work from home one or two days a week if possible.

]]>By: Dennishttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226236
DennisMon, 30 Jun 2008 18:07:48 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-226236The only thing that we can do as individuals is to reduce our energy consumption wherever and whenever possible. We are all so use to being energy “pigs” that we have forgotten that we are the root of this problem. So long as we continue to use, and pay for, energy at the current prices, there is no incentive for things to change.
Long term changes will have to include all the available technologies and probably some we have never even heard of as yet. Most of the changes will take half a lifetime to incorporate into everyday use but if we don’t start now they will never happen.
Ultimately, however, it will be reduced consumption that will make the true difference regardless of the source of the energy. Like it or not, we all have to go on an energy diet right now.
]]>By: Matt Desmondhttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226234
Matt DesmondMon, 30 Jun 2008 15:33:25 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-226234Congress must take off the reins on the energy companies and allow for the natural resources which are contained in our country, to be brought to market.

Find one other country which stands in the way of the use of it’s own natural resources like the US does. We must stop being held hostage by environmental groups.

Remove Federal, State, and local taxes from all aspects of the processing, transportation, and distribution of energy products. Although this would reduce tax receipts, it would benefit end users with lower prices, and allow for increased economic activity. This economic activity will result in government tax receipts.

]]>By: Alanhttp://libn.com/2008/06/30/fix-it-the-gas-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-226235
AlanMon, 30 Jun 2008 15:25:45 +0000http://libn.com/libizblog/?p=3114#comment-2262351. let’s make iraq split the profits on their oil sales. if they’re so glad we’re helping them make them pay for it. who says freedom has to be free?
2. if offshore drilling along our coasts will lower costs, then let’s do it. people all around the country suck it up over different potential problems every day – let’s share the good and the bad.
3. impose a windfall profit tax on the oil companies.
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